Dark Mark's Daughter
by ragdoll155
Summary: A year of immeasurable power is worth a year more of pain and suffering, and Ginevra Weasley is in debt; paying back what she owes in the arms of the enemy. R&R. DG
1. Prologue

**A/N:** This is my first attempt at a fanfic I'm actually going to publish online. I've written many over the past year or so but I just haven't bothered or thought they were good enough to put up, but I've decided I'll have a go, and all support would be appreciated:) 

This is a Draco/Ginny fic.

**---**

**Dark Mark's Daughter**

**---**

**Prologue**

---

_Four walls closing all around here  
Breathless, restless, terrified  
Can't see out, can't feel in realtime  
No escape from the inside;  
I scream for help, it's quiet still  
I break the walls to no avail  
I still can't face this cold enclosure  
My darkest fears know that I'll fail;  
And I am trapped, I'm lost forever  
Drenched with ice and shaking so  
And he just watches, cool impassive,  
Breathes the deadly music's flow..._

_And he danced to the rhythm of my deepest secrets  
Danced to the music of my darkest fears  
Danced with a smile insane and lovely  
Danced while he saw me dying here. _

_Voices echo through the hallway  
Cannot hear a word they say  
My question met with cold refusal  
Soft psychosis here to stay;  
I shout for reason, run and hide  
I see salvation, cannot call  
Madness speaks a million visions  
and I see, I feel them all;  
And I am crying to their rhythm  
The beat awry, alive, askance  
And I am joining in the music  
I am joining in the dance._

_And he danced to the rhythm of my deepest secrets  
Danced to the music of my darkest fears  
Danced with a smile insane and lovely  
Danced while he saw me dying here._

One of the many tears that Ginevra Weasley shed that night stained the dusty tear of parchment that bore the word she'd written a year ago tonight. A small pile of shredded parchment lay beside her, and in front of her an old and torn box of thin cardboard, hardly durable, but then again, neither were the contents. Shredding each piece of parchment one by one, her eyes and cheeks gleamed where tears had touched her soft, pale, freckled skin, and her eyes and face glowing brilliantly under the reflection of the common room fire.

But this piece of parchment she didn't shred. For a moment she held it, lost in silent thought; in silent misery. Then, a forlorn smile breaking through her wall of unsuppressed tears, she folded it in half and placed it in her robe pocket. Bill had once told her that any kind experience should be kept a memory, whether it was good or bad. Her smile now diminished and faded, she picked up the next piece of parchment, which she angrily tore in half, and threw into the fire in front of her, watching hungry tongues of golden fire swallow the memory up.

Her mind flashed back to Bill, her own brother. Her own brother, she repeated in her mind. He had done that to her own brother, and it was because of him, the Dark Lord, that Bill had lain unconscious for three days already in the sterilized and sickening hospital of St. Mungo's, and his fault that she had received twice as much news from her family from outside Hogwarts as she ever did in three weeks, let alone three days. And all news was depressing.

It was the factor needed to set off everything miserable that had happened in her life; the last thing she could handle. The truth tore at her, from every limb at her body, and half her mind urged her to put an end to it all. But she was stronger than that. She hadn't lived through the last year to turn out just as weak as before. No, she had been through it to come out strong.

The tear trails down her face burnt as if on fire, and the pit of hungry flames begged for more. Tears are not the product of weakness, Ginny had learnt. Only to surrender yourself to life's punishments ensured your weakness. Ginny would not do that. Not now. Those days had gone. She had grown since then, and she was strong. She would not surrender.

It had been an agreement. He would not harm those whom she loved. He had broken that promise. He treated her like a little girl arguing over which of them owned her doll. 'You do not love him.' He had told her; ordered her. Shredding up more parchment, faster and more forcefully than before, Ginny held the anger she held inside her, trying to subside it, but it only would grow. Who was he to tell her whom she loved?

She did love Bill. She may have turned against her family, that included him, but she had done it on her own means. She hadn't turned enemy on her family. She had always been distant from them, but that did not mean she did not love them.

'You do not know what love is.' The Dark lord had then preached, like a teacher starting a lecture because she'd complained about how he graded her work. She had asked him for the true meaning of love, unafraid of questioning him. She knew that he would, if he wanted, put an end to the life of any Death Eater who questioned his ways, almost instantly. She had watched, as he, like a puppeteer, playing with his puppets, played death upon those who even dared.

But she wasn't afraid. And he seemed proud of her for that. She had always been daring, and strong-willed; determined. It had seemed, though he was not one who was at all predictable. He had said to her, as she knelt at his feet, 'If you knew what true love was, you would not be here.'

Well he was right. She had joined then, when she did not understand, nor realize, how many people loved her. But now she did. She had finished her association with the Dark Lord. She'd no longer be one of them, and she would no longer bow down at his honour. She once thought joining the Dark Lord would free her from whatever dark clutches held her, but now she knew better. Freedom is a life where there's no one there to tell you what is right, and what is wrong, something which is not obtainable under the eye of Lord Voldemort.

And though her own skin must bear his mark, and it would grasp at her soul and try to pull her back to what she once was, he could no longer tell her what to do. She was her own body and own self, and for once she understood the meaning of love. Love is defined by the beholder, and love he could not truly define. And as determined and stubborn as she had been for him, she would now be against him.

Ginny picked up the last material possession which was there to remind her of what would now lay behind her, a work and dusty old book, with an emerald green figure of art pictured on the front – The Dark Mark.

She held it up in front of her, and with the reflections of the fire playing shapes across her face, said angrily but clearly:

'You don't know what love is.'

Her cinnamon eyes burnt with the familiar vividness that anyone who had dared anger her knew, as she tore the book in half, focusing all the anger inside her out, to throw it into the flames, let it burn and subside, to set her free from the web the Dark Lord had her tangled inside, and she proclaimed her newfound fortitude.

---

Poem belongs to purrverse of The full version can be found there.

Well I don't know what it's like, really, so please take the time to review. Advice, suggestions and ways in which I can improve are most welcome )

Draco will be introduced in the next chapter. I just had to introduce this bit in the prologue as I believe it to be critical to my storyline.

Review??

Edited on 4th January 2005.


	2. 1 A Potions Lesson With Draco Malfoy

**A/N:** Stupid stupid me forgot to turn off the no anonymous reviews option. Now, it is off, so I'm hoping for more reviews this time round :P 

**Dark Mark's Daughter**

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**Chapter One – A Potions Lesson with Draco Malfoy**

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After her first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson for her sixth year, Ginny began to gather her books into her arms, ready to approach the Great Hall for her lunch break. In the background, she could hear Professor Northrop shutting the windows with her wand, her heels causing the floorboards to rattle as she made her way to the other side of the room to get her bag.

'What was your name again? Ginny, wasn't it?' she inquired, her face expression remaining unaffected as it seemed to have been all lesson, her lips somewhat pursed. 'Have you ever performed the defense spells we learnt today? In any case, I understand that it is a customary precaution that all wizards and witches know these spells with the rise of Voldemort having been issued, but I can't think of where you could have learnt such skills. Have you ever performed them before?'

_Yes._

'No.' Ginny said quickly, her gaze flickering across to look at her. Professor Northrop's brown eyes questioned her quizzically, and Ginny looked away uneasily. 'I've – I've never even heard of them before.'

'Really?' Professor Northrop looked away, her tone sounding bewildered, but at the same time, Ginny sensed, disappointed. She made her way towards the door and pushed close a cupboard, then said, gazing at Ginny, smiling, 'Well in that case you're extremely skilled.'

She pulled her robe sleeves back down, after having pushed them up to keep them out of the way while demonstrating the spells they had performed that day, and made her way to the door. 'Have you ever considered becoming an Auror when you finish school?' With that she left. Ginny watched her until her long wavy blonde hair disappeared behind a corner.

_I did... once._

Ginny left the room solemnly, her books held in her arms grasp, and made her way towards the Great Hall. Wind blew through open windows, and though she tried, her mind would not leave the thought of what Professor Northrop had told her just then.

Two and a half years ago she would have done anything to become an Auror. She took both her hands and parted her auburn red hair from her face from either side. That was just another dream that had been robbed of her in the past year's course.

She seated herself beside Harry, immediately grabbing a sandwich and taking a small bite from it, but not saying a word. Ron mockingly waved exaggeratedly, grinning stupidly at her, but only managed to receive a menacing glare in return. He rolled his eyes and turned back to talk to Harry and Hermione, Hermione wearing an expression of deep sympathy for Ginny.

Ginny finished the sandwich, and said on her own free accord 'I'll be joining your potions class this year.' This caused Ron to frown in annoyance, Hermione to make an expression crossed between pride and what Ginny seemed to detect as jealousy, and Harry to just stare bewilderedly at her. He was probably thinking about how in Merlin's name Ginny, a Gryffindor, could be good enough in Snape's eyes, to be moved up a year's experience in Potions.

Ron, also detecting Hermione's jealous eye, though she didn't in any way use it as a factor of dislike for the youngest Weasley, elbowed Hermione softly, grinning. 'Looks like you've gotten yourself some competition, Miss-Know-It-All.'

Hermione scowled at him, took a rapid breath and said stiffly. 'Whatever makes you think I would be jealous?'

---

'Draco, have you heard from your father recently? If not I have some pleasurable news to cheer you up, whatever is the matter.' Daphne Greengrass said classily. She sat with Draco, Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle in the Slytherin Common Room, upon a green lavished armchair, her legs crossed and a piece of parchment in her hand. With a silver feathered quill she neatly wrote down a last sentence and then stopped to think, twirling the quill around her long and slender fingers.

'No I haven't. Why?'

'Now, Draco, you always sound so deviously frustrated, with everyone.' Daphne said chillingly. She had a sense of coolness to her, which even Draco could not compete with. No one could make her lose her temper, or change her tone of voice. She always seemed so unaffected by everything, yet held you vulnerable to her mocking statements and teasing. 'Now, my father has sent me such news that your father and Ms. Lestrange had the pleasure of blowing up an entire street of Muggles yesterday evening.'

'And where do they manage to see the logical _point_ in that?' Draco said in disgust, which made Daphne stare up at the ceiling, scowling in frustration.

'They were apparently and most probably bored. Wouldn't you be too? What else have they got to do?' Daphne said nastily.

'Something worthwhile.'

Daphne ignored his answer, and didn't bother pointing out that her question had been inquiring what exactly _was _worthwhile for them to do. She gave up trying to get a decent answer out of the grumpy boy.

'Think about it, all these years spent on trying to bring him back to life, and we're finally there.' Pansy said dreamily.

'There's still a great deal to go, Parkinson. Or is your mind so simplified as to not be able to see that?' Draco spat.

Crabbe nodded dumbly, his eyes blank.

'He's still got to kill Harry Potter.' Goyle said smartly, nodding along with what he'd said. His air of then-felt intelligence was burst by a sharp glare from Draco, who obviously didn't need to be reminded about that particular obstacle standing in the way of the Dark Lord.

'Luck doesn't strike someone this many times. It has to fail him sometime.' Draco said to reassure himself.

'That's true.' Daphne said, then in barely a whisper she said in her coldest voice, her lips curled and her green eyes gleaming, 'So maybe it's not just luck.'

---

Ginny arrived late for her Potions lesson with the seventh years the next morning. As good as she was at it, she wasn't looking forward to a double lesson in Potions with such an unpleasant crowd as her brother and his friends with addition to the Slytherins.

'Good morning Miss Weasley. Nice of you to bother joining us.' Professor Snape said sarcastically as she made her way to the first row to sit next to Parvati Patil in one of the three left-over spare seats at an empty table, upon it resting an old and rusting cauldron. 'Or were you trying to make a grand entrance? Make sure everyone knows about how you've been accelerated a year.'

Ginny ignored him. She had learnt to do this. If she didn't say anything, and made it look like Snape was having the desired affect, he was actually bearably tolerable. After all, it had been Snape's own decision to move Ginny up to this class, so he couldn't think all that badly of her.

She glanced towards the Slytherins. Some wore looks of disgust at her entrance, and others looks of confusion or disbelief. Some obviously were convinced there was some sort of mistake in a Weasley being moved up a class, or in the least a Gryffindor being accelerated by Professor Snape himself.

'We'll begin what was explained to you last lesson. Weasley, what I asked you to read in advance before this lesson. It will only affect you if you didn't read it like I requested.' He turned to the rest of the class. 'Please remember this is an assessment task, and that no books are allowed to be used as reference during this lesson.'

Ginny nodded. She had read the chapter on Advanced Memory Potions like Snape had asked her to read. It had taken her all night to read it, and she'd remembered cursing him under her breath, not understanding how he could possible expect her to read so much in one night, and in any case, memorize it all.

'Where is the group of three?' Snape asked. Crabbe and Goyle both raised their hands, leaving Draco to sit there waiting.

'Ah, Mr. Malfoy, you can work with Weasley? I would hate Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle's pure lack of simple instructions to bring your grade down.'

Draco started in complaint with an excuse Ginny couldn't make out, but was silenced by Snape's curled jaw and index finger pointing towards Ginny. Ginny could read by his facial expression that he would much rather desire to boss Crabbe and Goyle around than work with her.

Draco hesitantly moved his books and dumped them on the chair beside Ginny's. As the other pairs burst into conversation and proceeded in collecting their needed ingredients from the storage cupboards, he said, 'Now I would be most grateful if you spent the rest of this lesson silently without disturbing me, so that I can pass this assessment.' He didn't look at her.

He went to collect the ingredients for the potion, muttering something to Blaise Zambini as he passed, who laughed solidly, running his hand over the spikes in his hair. Ginny had no plans of shutting up for the lesson whatsoever.

He returned, dumping the pile of ingredients on the table in front of him. She looked at the pile, then at him, and inquired, 'Where's the dragon horn dust?'

He glared at her, and then stormed off to collect one of the small jars of dragon horn dust from one of the cupboards. When he returned, he began to place each ingredient in the cauldron in the correct order. Ginny just observed, her head tilted and resting on her hand, her eyes half closed with boredom.

'You're supposed to stir it thrice now, Malfoy.' Ginny pointed out, trying to stop herself from smiling in pleasure from his reaction.

Draco fumbled as he sliced up the Alihotsy leaves. The fact that the rest of the Weasleys were loud and talkative, but she was just quiet and observant, was getting on his last nerves. She seemed to watch and take in everything, even though she stared at the cauldron and what went in it with such a bored and translucent gaze, she still seemed to be watching it with all type of alertness at the same time.

'You know what's the most annoying thing in the world for me?' the girl said suddenly, sitting back up and leaning back in her seat. 'That – _Malfoy_ don't put that in yet!' She grabbed his wrist and pulled it away from the cauldron. 'Why are you using your hands anyway?'

'Why the hell not? It says so in the book. I did happen to read it you know.' Draco said. Her hands were cold, and something at the back of his mind wanted to hold them in his own and warm them. 'Yes well you obviously don't know the ingredient properties. You need to soak this in the boomslang skin juice, unless you want the person who eats it to panic in hysteria!' Ginny, frowning in frustrated desperation went to find boomslang skin, leaving Draco to curse her under his breath.

'It didn't say that in the book.' He said, noticing Blaise standing behind him, laughing in hysteria at the sight of Draco being corrected in such a way. He said this in such a tone that identified that he therefore believed that it didn't have to be done.

'RON!' a high-pitched yell stopped the majority of the class working. Hermione had come from the other side of the room carrying her own strip of boomslang skin. 'What did you _do _to it!? It's not supposed to be ORANGE!'

This seemed to entertain Snape, who made his way towards Ron and Hermione, leaving the side of Seamus and Dean's potion, which he was eyeing smugly. Draco watched as Ginny, now returned, waved her wand a few times and with close to no effort, had the boomslang skin dripping juice into the small bronze bowl which now held the Alihotsy leaves.

'There!'

Draco was half impressed, half outraged. He couldn't put it past his mind that he was working with a sixth year Weasley who had just corrected him in his assessment task for what was for all he knew, his best subject besides Defense Against the Dark Arts.

'Just incase you've done anything else so stupidly wrong, when we are called to test our potions, you can be the one who tests it.' She said. 'Anyway, it should come in use. Maybe it will help you remember the most crucial parts in conjuring Memory Potions.'

Unfortunately for Ginny, his appreciation for her having prevented him from failing the assessment wasn't shown visible over his outrage, and he spent the remains of the lesson completing the task with plainly visible frustration, every now and again being corrected by the clearly visible bored girl.

At the end of the lesson, as Snape observed each cauldron, his eyebrows and mouth twisting into different positions at every attempt he saw. At Ginny and Draco's he nodded, not saying anything, instead walking back to entertain himself for the second time at finally being given the excuse to fail Hermione's work, as she stood teary eyed beside Ron.

He made his way towards the Great Hall accompanied by Blaise, and as he cut up his steak he wondered what Ginny would have told him about what she found the most annoying thing in the world, if he hadn't disturbed her by forgetting to soak the Alihotsy leaves in the boomslang skin juice.

---

**Anaili – **My first beloved reviewer :) 3 Thank you, thank you and thank you. Well I came up with the idea of Ginny becoming a Death Eater basically because she appeals to me as the youngest, quietest and most mysterious Weasley, plus we've already seen her connection to Voldemort in the second book. You'll just have to wait and see how she realized it wasn't for her. Again, thank you :)

**Feltons Trory-Baby – **Of course Draco will be in it! :P What would a fic be without Draco o.0 Your review means a lot to me too :)

**zuvalupa – **Thank you :) I'm glad you find it interesting and that you can't wait for more :P

**Faint Hate – **Oops thank you so much for notifying me :P And thank you for reviewing and I'm glad you can't wait for more :P

**Lialesca – **Thanks, that was my aim so I'm happy that it came out the right way. Well I _hope _it gets better! But its up to you to make sure I know if it is or not. :D

Edited 6th January 2005


	3. 2 The Dark Lord's Calling

**A/N:** OK next chapter :) and I have realized that my.. equal signs don't work. Anyway, I need to make a note to correct an unclearly written.. thing.. in the last chapter. 

I didn't write it clearly, but when Prof. Northrop told Ginny she should consider becoming an Auror, she said it while walking out and looking back, then she left. I said she exited, said it, then 'she' left who you may have thought was Ginny. THEN Ginny left :P

Sorry about that. Anyways I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Thank you, Shelby for betaing this for me :)

**Dark Mark's Daughter**

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**Chapter Two – The Dark Lord's Calling**

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Thunder roared and rain pelted against the wall-length window beside Ginny's bed, but Ginny did not awaken. Neither did the other four girls in her dorm. It was past midnight, and the common room had emptied itself completely just but an hour ago. The Gryffindor tower was sprawled underneath a sheet of silence, save for the torrents of rain and thunder outside.

'_Come back...' _The words repeated themselves in eerie echoes, as Ginny writhed in her sleep. She whimpered, curling up vulnerably. _'You don't belong with them... you belong alongside me...' _Ginny clenched her fists, the longer of her uneven nails digging into her palms. Her face was white, creating a vivid contrast between the colour of her skin and that of her freckles dappled across her cheeks. _'They can't give you power, my Ginevra. They are all but weak.' _Tears burnt her unopened eyes, sliding down her eyelashes and joining the coat of freckles underneath her eyes. _'Ginevra, reunite with your master!' _Ginny sat bolt upright, her eyes wide open, clutching her right arm as if it was on fire. She winced in pain, sobbing afterwards, longing for the burning in her arm to disappear.

'Leave me alone!' She said, but it only came out weakly through her tears, which clogged up her throat as she tried not to wake her dorm mates. She ran her index finger over the black skull imprinted on her arm. The path where her finger had run felt like ice for a second before it burnt warmer than ever, causing more tears to flood down her even whiter face.

Ginny held the curtain of her four-poster bed aside and gazed out of the window. Raindrops slid down the glass one after another, and every few minutes the room and the sky outside would flash from the light emitted from the lightning.

Ginny lay back down, staring up at the ceiling, trying to pretend that the immense pain in her arm would disappear and leave her in peace. But like the past times the Dark Lord had called back hungrily for her service, she knew she would not receive any sleep for the remaining hours of the night.

---

It was indistinguishable whether Ginny was fighting to keep her eyes open because of her lack of sleep, or because of her boredom in Muggle Studies. She had taken the subject to keep her father happy, but unfortunately did not enjoy it to the same degree as he did.

The overeager professor asked her a question, and Ginny sat upright, her eyes peeling open.

'Sorry, could you repeat that?'

He repeated his question in his same overly excited voice. Every syllable, it seemed, was exaggerated, as if he was trying to make the subject sound absolutely amazing, which, Ginny thought, was pointless. As far as she was concerned, she didn't need to know how Muggles managed to transport themselves from one side of London to the next, as long as she knew she could cover twice the difference in ten times the speed.

'I'm not sure, sir.' 'Of course you don't know, Miss Weasley! If you knew, I would be asking Lovegood, because she doesn't know either!' Luna Lovegood didn't seem to have even heard the professor say her name, because she continued to gaze dreamily out of the window, as if amazed by the fact that it was raining.

Ginny left her first class feeling as if it were her last. She made her way to the Great Hall, her bag feeling five times heavier than usual, like she was carrying three of Hagrid's giant pumpkins in addition to her school books.

'Ginny, Quidditch practice this afternoon!' Amelia Bell said, joining Ginny as she sat down at the Gryffindor table. She wore her blonde hair tied back, loose strands hanging behind her ears. Ginny just groaned. 'I hope we win this year.' Amelia said. 'Last year was such an embarrassment. Katie even told me so. She said... never mind.' Ginny didn't mind. She knew that whatever Katie said wouldn't have been all that bad. She always exaggerated everything. Colin thought it was to make up for her shyness. Ginny didn't get what that had to do with anything.

'Millie, can you tell Ron I'm in the hospital wing, and that I don't feel well?' Ginny asked tiredly. Though Amelia had helped herself to a corned beef sandwich and was eating away at it rather greedily, Ginny didn't eat anything.

Amelia, though, looked at her as if she'd been scandalized. 'Ginny? You _can't _skip the training session! Are you absolutely insane?! We're playing Ravenclaw in two weeks and we can't even pass the _quaffle _to each other without dropping it!'

Ginny buried her head in her arms, which were crossed over the table, and rolled her eyes so that her best friend couldn't see. They hadn't missed a pass for the past three training sessions. But she didn't complain. Unless she wanted Amelia telling the rest of the Gryffindor team, including Ron, that she was skipping the training session, enlarging it to the idea that Ginny had committed some deadly sin, Ginny would have to keep quiet and go to the training session.

---

The day passed extremely slowly for Ginny, who, by her last lesson, had to hold her eyelids open so that they wouldn't close. Professor Flitwick had commented three times that she wasn't performing her best, and that he would expect her to be able to conjure a Cheering Charm accurately by now, seeing they'd learnt it in the third year, without sending her friend, Fia, running out of the classroom crying as if she'd just been told her mother had died.

Halfway through the lesson, Amelia had tried to charm Ginny's eyelids to feel lighter so that she wouldn't fall asleep. After she'd whispered the incantation so that Flitwick wouldn't hear, Ginny's eyelids felt heavier than ever, and she spent the rest of the class listening to Amelia whine apologies in her ear.

They made their way to the Quidditch pitch, each holding their broomsticks. Amelia held a Comet 260, which she complained about at least three times a week. Ginny held her own Shooting Star, a hand-me-down, like the majority of her things, from Ron. It may not have been the best broom, but Ginny had gotten to the point where she didn't care.

The rest of the team was already seated around Ron, who was standing up, his elbow perched on his Cleansweep 11 and his chest puffed out, reminding her of Percy. He was extremely proud of being elected captain. Ginny thought the only reason was because they thought Harry had enough trouble on his own hands with the rise of Voldemort, without the extra burden of training a Quidditch team.

Fia seemed to have cheered up since the incident in charms, and now sat with her legs crossed on the substitute bench, her Nimbus Two Thousand and One lying in her lap. Though the Firebolt had taken over it in the league,it was the best broomstick they had on the team, save for Harry's.However, Fia had never acted like it was a big deal that she had a Nimbus Two Thousand and One. Ginny, trying to imagine that she was as rich as her friend, still couldn't imagine acting so laid back, as if having a broomstick of that quality was no big deal.

Ron heartily made a speech about how none of them were trying hard enough, putting down everyone except for himself and Harry, who he couldn't find anything wrong with. Then, climbing onto his own broomstick, he told everyone to proceed with the training drills he'd outlined the week before.

Ginny tried to keep herself together, so that she wouldn't fall off her broom fifty feet in the air. Then, alongside Amelia, she followed Fia into the air.

Half an hour passed, in which Ginny was sure she'd fall off her broom any second. She ran away from several passes from both Amelia and Fia, because she couldn't make herself concentrate hard enough to try and catch them. Ron had yelled at her three times already, telling her that if she didn't smarten up soon she'd be the reason they lost the Quidditch cup.

However the arrival of a particular group of people dressed in green robes and all carrying identical broomsticks caused her to awaken almost suddenly, though it was moments before she took her eyes off the Slytherin team and noticed that her teammates were already striding towards them angrily. She headed back towards ground and followed them, at a slight jog so as not to miss out anything.

'That old Shooting Star leaving you a bit behind, Weasley?' Draco sneered as she reached them, standing next to Harry, holding her broomstick by her side. She scowled at him, not providing an answer. 'Of course, I really should be feeling sorry for you. It's not like your family can afford any better, can it? Not even now that there's only two of you left for your parents to pay for!' The rest of the thick-minded Slytherin team snorted, two or three of them taking a moment to actually get what he was saying.

'Malfoy, what are you doing here?' Harry said angrily, directing the conversation off Ron's family. Ron had turned the colour of his robes and was gripping onto his broomstick so hard Ginny was afraid it might break.

'Well surprisingly we were planning on training, Potter.' Malfoy said, expressing through his tone of voice how obvious that was, seeing they'd turned up in their Quidditch robes and holding their Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. 'But seeing it seems the pitch is already taken, we might as well sit down and have a laugh at your own pathetic efforts to make this team any less worse than it already is.'

Ron, having the opinion that all they were trying to do was clear the Quidditch pitch for themselves, told the team to continue with their training.

Ginny, her sudden jolt of energy having disappeared, groaned disappointedly, having hoped that the Slytherins' arrival would have meant she could go back to her dorm and sleep.

'Great, Ron. Now they're going to find out all our tactics!' Amelia whined. 'We are _so_ going to lose now! You have just banished _all_ our chances for the cup!' However it didn't seem they were much interested in their team tactics, as they were more occupied with mocking any player on any one mistake they made, than giving their team the upper hand in the game they played against Gryffindor next.

'Careful Weasley! You're going too fast!' Malfoy shouted as Ginny swept down near the stands to grab the quaffle that Fia had passed to her and she'd missed. 'You might overtake the Quaffle!' 'Ignore them, Ginny, they're not worth it.' Amelia said while giving death glares to Malfoy, who, as well as the rest of team, was in uproars. 'You know you're a good player regardless of what broom you're on.'

'Amelia, I can't even catch a quaffle when you throw it at me!'

'Ginny, you're half _asleep_!'

Ginny didn't say anything, continuing trying to catch the quaffles, and chase the majority of which she missed. When Ron told them all to go back to Gryffindor tower, Ginny was the most relieved of them all.

'Alright there, Weasley?' Draco asked mockingly as she passed. 'For a second there I thought...' But Ginny was glaring at him so dangerously that he stopped mid-sentence and turned back to his team. 'Right, well with them having finished their lousy efforts...' Draco peered back behind him to watch Ginny's mass of waved red hair disappear behind the stands, and for a second he thought he may have felt guilt. He convinced himself she was just a Mudblood-loving Weasley and then commenced with talking to his teammates.

'Right, I want that Rivero girl off her broomstick first. You know, the dark-haired Chaser. She's a fast player, and she's on a good broomstick. Oi, Crabbe, you hit her across the head with a bludger within the first ten minutes of the game, or else...' he didn't bother telling the burly Beater what he'd do if Fia hadn't been knocked off her broomstick by that time period. 'If you can, you can knock Weasley out with a Quaffle. That shouldn't be hard, and you can say it was an accident; that you accidentally hit him when you were scoring.'

Crabbe elbowed Goyle, grunting, which was, though not distinguishable, him laughing.

'The other Weasley...' he snorted. 'She's useless on that pathetic broom of hers, and as for Bell, she'll have the exact same tactics as her bloody sister.' He opened his eyes wide and made an exaggerated look of surprise, then pretended to be knocked back in the head with a Bludger, trying to imitate Amelia's older sister, Katie. 'They won't be able to score a single goal to save their lives.' 'What about Harry Potter?' Goyle croaked, grinning stupidly, though in a light which expressed his personal opinion that he was pretty smart to remember who the Gryffindor Seeker was.

'Leave Potter.' Malfoy snarled. 'If you get rid of him then I can't say I beat him to the Snitch.' He then tried to think of anything else to say, and, not finding anything, glared at them all. 'Well, you stupid oafs! What are you waiting for? Get to work!' With that they pushed off into the air, Crabbe and Goyle stupidly hitting the Bludger between them, barely two inches from one another.

Draco turned around to check the time on the clock behind him. As he turned to face the pitch again, his glance hit something else. He jerked back around, hoping to see what the big yellow eyes belonged to, but nothing was there. He waited for a few seconds, then, insulting himself under his breath for seeing things, took off to follow the rest of the Slytherins onto the pitch.

---

**zuvalupa – **Heh thank you :) huggles

**Faint Hate – **You love Daphne too? I love her because she's such a flexible character. I can make her whoever I want her to be, and make her do whatever I want her to do. :P

**Anaili – **I adore the new DADA teacher, well, how I imagine her and her personality anyway.

**Carmleinak – **Thank you :)

**AnimagisInTraining – **Thank you :) huggles

**mystique river – **hehe I hope the plot I have in mind is good.. o.0

**ragne – **I love you Ragne!!! Thank you :)


	4. 3 Red Heads, Quills and Fur

**A/N: **You don't know how many times I have rewritten this chapter, but here it is. So I hope you like it. I have just eaten six cookies, all which have given me sufficient energy, I'm sure, to write this. Sorry for the delay in posting new chapters. But keep these reviews coming. Inspire me ;)

Also,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

**---**

**Dark Mark's Daughter**

**---**

**Chapter Three – Red Heads, Quills and Fur**

**---**

'There she is, you idiot!' Draco elbowed Goyle so hard that the boy dropped his wand. This resulted in Draco letting out a long and frustrated groan.

If Goyle had been at all daring enough to speak what was on his mind, he would ask Draco why he couldn't curse Abbie Cavanagh himself. However he knew that Draco just didn't want to get himself into trouble, and that he'd rather risk it rather than have his head on a priceless silver platter. However he bent down and grabbed it between his pudgy fingers. As he held it out, purple sparks shot out of the end of it, and Abbie Cavanagh let out a squeal of pain and dropped her books and parchment.

Draco smirked. 'Blimey, Cavanagh! And here I was thinking that Goyle here had bad acne!'

Goyle flushed embarrassedly, wiping his face as if it would instantly wash off his pimples. He didn't like hurting people, and at the sight of Abbie's face, he felt extremely guilty. Tears poured down her cheeks, and sizzled as they touched her nose, which had swelled to the size of half a tomato, and was erupting with oversized purple blisters.

Goyle scratched his neck nervously as they passed. He knew that Abbie hadn't seen him, but what if she guessed? He'd be expelled, and his father would be absolutely furious. Goyle was disturbed from his pessimistic thoughts by Abbie, who ran past them sobbing, probably in the direction of the hospital wing, looking down to try and hide her face.

Draco sniggered, and taking the next right, took the shortcut to the dungeons. Now that the Ravenclaw seeker's nose was nearing the size of a baseball, the Ravenclaw match against Gryffindor would definitely be postponed. And seeing they had played Hufflepuff previously, that only left Slytherin.

'What's wrong with you?' he said roughly, viewing Goyle as if he acting in a highly offending way. When Goyle muttered a subtle 'no', Draco grunted, then entered the Potions classroom ignorantly, making his way towards his set seat next to Ginny Weasley. Usually, this would put a direct end to any of Draco's blissfulness, however, today he didn't care.

'Good afternoon, Malfoy.' Ginny said as he sat down, but he could hear the coldness edging in her otherwise polite voice.

Draco didn't answer, but instead began to spread out his set of new quills over the table. His mother had sent him them three days before, and they were of such a fine make that anyone who looked at them would know they were the best, and most expensive, quills available. Though he only half admitted it to himself, he saw them as the perfect way to brag to Weasley about what they both knew she couldn't have.

He glanced at Ginny from the corner of her eye, however she didn't seem to wear the reaction Draco had desired over her face. Instead, she was frowning somewhat curiously, but at the same, in revolt.

'They're funny looking quills, aren't they?' she commented, causing Draco to purse his lips in annoyance. 'I don't like this one. The colour's ghastly.' She had pointed towards the quill closest to her, her nose scrunched up in disgust, causing Draco to do the same, disgusted just as much by her lack of taste in such expensive items.

She had pointed to a brilliantly coloured quill, the center of the long, perfectly articulated feather a soft orange, which darkened to a vivid red, outlining the edges of the feather. The stem was black, and a silver rod curled around most of the stem, ending with a fancy letter 'D' in front of the feather. It also happened to be one of the more valuable of his quills.

'May I ask why your quills are closer to me than you?' Ginny asked sweetly, then added in the most brutally cold voice Draco had ever heard her speak in, 'It's almost like you're deliberately trying to wave your snobby upper-class, and may I add, rather ugly, quills under my nose!' With that, she opened her book forcefully and began to read the page she had opened on.

'Your opinion of them being ugly is only a result of your lack of taste, Weasley.' Draco said coolly, but even he could hear the obvious frustration in his voice. 'Which would be expected in a family like yours, who wouldn't be able to afford anything which even borders the line of considerable good taste.'

'Well as I see it, my selection in tasteful quills seems not to be so limited by price. In that case, I take pride in being able to select attractive quills without having my robe pockets overflowing with galleons.'

'These, Weasley, happen to be attractive quills!' Draco said, now snatching up his quills and putting them ruthlessly back into his bag.

'Only because you know how much they cost!' Ginny exclaimed. She was fuming now, and Draco had the theory that if he were to hold up the red-feathered quill Ginny had so rudely commented on to her face, he would not see the difference in colour. 'If I had given them to you and told you they cost a single sickle each, you would instantly hate them!'

Draco was now fuming himself, however though under his robes his fists were clenched in fury, the fact that he had been so affected by Ginny's words was not visible. 'I have-'

However he was interrupted before he could finish his sentence. 'You love everything, and everyone, for what they're worth!' Ginny claimed. 'Worth in money.' she added a bit more quietly. 'I wouldn't be surprised if you're heart was one big fat galleon itself!'

The two spent the remains of the lesson passing death glares between one another, Ginny thrusting the ingredients into the cauldron so forcefully that potion splashed over the table, burning miniature caves in the table.

When Snape had dismissed the class, Ginny stormed out ahead of him, and as Draco entered the dungeon corridor, he watched her with great dislike as she spied her friend Colin and snapped out of her bad mood immediately, filling the dimly lit and cold corridor with warm laughter. It was funny how she could do that, he thought – alight any negativity into laughter and good-spirit.

---

'We're playing Slytherin tomorrow.' Ron said glumly, his eyes sunken, yet still glinting with frustration. 'Abbie Cavanagh stuck in the hospital wing for another week. Apparently someone cursed her in the corridor but she doesn't know who.'

Almost everyone groaned. Fia and Jack swore at the same time, causing Jack to grin at Fia stupidly. She narrowed her eyes at him, and then looked away. Andrew Kirke stamped his foot on the ground, and Amelia buried her head in her lap and muffled something which sounded like 'We're _so_ going to _lose_!' Ginny thoughts flew directly to Draco Malfoy, and she bit her lip and cursed him under her breath.

'You'd have to be pretty thick to have someone knock you in the face with a curse and not see who it is.' Ron now said. 'What was she doing? Walking through the corridor with her blinking eyes shut?'

'Well we can't pull out.' Harry said.

'We'll better just make a complete fool out ourselves in front of the entire school instead.' Andrew muttered.

'Better that than not trying at all.' Ginny said. 'We have at least a minor chance of winning if we play.'

Andrew smiled sarcastically at the ground, shaking his head. Jack and Fia both raised their eyebrows as if to say they'd believe it when they saw it, and Amelia just stared open-mouthed at Ginny, as if she'd just suggested she jump off a bridge into a pit of dragons.

'Come on. I want to win the cup this year.' Harry said determinedly. 'Both of them! It's my last year here and I won't have another chance.'

However inspiring Harry's words _may_ have sounded, Ginny didn't believe Gryffindor had any chance of winning with the team thinking so negatively. Even Ron hadn't stroked inspiration by what his best friend had said, and just stared at the ground, leaning on his Cleansweep 11, as if the ground would swallow him up any second.

The team did not practice that evening. In the end, Ron had sulkily told them that training was off, and had left with Harry next to him, who didn't make any effort to cheer his best friend up, but glowered at everything around him as well.

---

Draco went back up to his dormitory with Pansy two hours past midnight, after having deducting as much points off students as possible, and putting a stop to their fun and sending them to their common rooms.

'Draco...'

'Be quiet Pansy.' Draco snapped, not wanting to listen to Pansy suggest they not go back to the common room yet one more time.

He saw Pansy flinch, but continued without care.

After abandoning Pansy in the common room, he slipped through the curtained archway to his dormitory, and by waving his wand, turned on the light, obviously not caring whether the rest of his roommates were awoken by it.

'Draco! Turn the fucking light off!' Blaise groaned, peering at Draco furiously from his bed. 'You have no fucking consideration for anyone else in this fucking room!'

But Draco had turned around, his face fuming and nostrils flaring, and in his hand he held –

'Fur!' Draco shouted, dropping a tuft of ginger fur onto the ground. 'Cat fur! Why is there cat fur? None of you have cats!'

Crabbe was sitting up, gawking stupidly at Draco, who had not moved since his discovery.

'Did you see it?' Draco asked angrily, looking at Blaise, and then at Vincent Crabbe. 'Did you see whatever left this?'

Crabbe shook his head. Goyle was still sleeping; one arm hanging off the bed, and loud snores emitted from his mouth.

'There's been no fucking cat in here.' Blaise said grumpily, hitting his pillow and dropping back onto it. 'I'm allergic, and no one in here owns a cat.'

Scowling, Draco changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed, cursing everything red.

---

Ginny returned from the kitchens an hour to midnight, her arms overloaded with food. She had planned her timing accordingly so that Malfoy hadn't caught her, and after watching him leave, she'd made her way into the kitchens, and to the hundreds of house elves' delights, had collected as much food as her arms could hold.

Amelia was playing Exploding Snap with Colin and Jack, however it seemed that Fia had stormed off to her dormitory as soon as they had gotten back to the common room after Quidditch training.

'Oh yum, Ginny! Where have you been? You've been ages!' Amelia said, taking the bottle of pumpkin juice just as Jack's cards exploded in his hands. 'She locked me out.' She then said cautiously, nodding her head towards the small spiral staircase leading up to their dormitory.

'Well, you know Fia.' Jack said, shrugging his shoulders. 'Can't stand the idea of not winning, or knowing anyone better than her.'

'She's as ambitious as a Slytherin.' Colin said suggestively, earning him a smack over the head from Amelia.

'Don't say that! She'd never be like... like them!' Amelia said, looking scared at the mere thought.

'No, she wouldn't be.' Ginny said, which seemed to reassure Jack, who took a butterbeer and leaned back in his seat to make himself more comfortable.

'Now, what were you saying before Ginny returned?' Jack said breezily.

'Well, I was saying that when my grandmother found out my father was engaged to a Muggle, she threatened to set a dragon loose at their wedding.' Amelia began. 'But Dad, he said that nothing could stop him marrying Mum, because he was in love.' Jack sniggered into his butterbeer bottle, but Amelia didn't notice. 'Did you know my Dad was one of the ministry members who saved that village from that Norwegian Ridgeback in Sweden? Sent the dragon right back into the Norwegian mountains where it belonged!'

Ginny, with her own butterbeer, sat back and listened to Amelia continue her exaggerated stories about her family, rolling her eyes several times, which made Jack snigger and Colin grin widely. Two hours later, Ron came storming out of his dormitory telling them all to go to bed, because they had an important Quidditch game the next day, so after Ginny whispering _alohomora _at their locked dormitory door, they both climbed into bed.

**---**

**malunatic – **Aw thank you :) That's reassuring ;)

**Anaili – **Well nothing about their Quidditch match this chapter, but it will be taking place next chapter, and I promise an entertaining game ;) At least I'll try.

**fcuking cathy – **Thank you :)

**jennifer – **Thanks, I'm glad you find it funny.

**AnimagusInTraining – **Thank you :) Well I'm taking a bit long to build up any obvious... emotions between Draco and Ginny.. I hope people aren't getting annoyed at not finding any yet ;)

**zuvalupa – **Thank you :) I'll bring more soon then!

**lily-evans – **Draco could be seeing things... ;)

**MissSeventyFive/Miss75/Miss57 – **I couldn't help laughing at how you signed three different reviews with different names each time. I think you're the same person anyway. Crabbe and Goyle are fun to play around with it's just hoping whether other people find it just as fun to read.


	5. 4 Butterfingers and Pink Iced Buns

**A/N: **I've never realized how hard it is to write Quidditch scenes. I kept running out of vocabulary. Anyway. I've been rereading the OotP and I came across the following sentence:

'_I think I'll try out for Chaser instead. Angelina and Alicia are leaving next year.'_

It didn't say Katie is leaving. But we always assume Katie's in the same year. Has it mentioned anywhere else in the book that Katie is in their year or is she a year below? I was wondering. It doesn't affect my story in any case. Katie would have left regardless.

I have gone back and edited the Prologue and Chapter One. Don't ask why, except I thought I'd tidy some things up. I am a bit of a perfectionist. There was some uncanon-ness about Snape and I fixed up the mixed up 'exiting' scene with Professor Northrop.

However I have not fixed up my extremely pitiful mistake in forgetting that CHO CHANG HAS LEFT THE DAMN SCHOOL. Anyway I have fixed that. The Ravenclaw seeker, so you are not confused, is called Abbie Cavanagh.

On with the next chapter...

**Dark Mark's Daughter**

**---**

**Chapter Four – Butterfingers and Pink Iced Buns**

**---**

Ginny awoke the next morning to find the dormitory completely abandoned. There were only three four-poster beds in this room, which was slightly smaller than the other dormitories. However, their room looked over the Quidditch pitch, which served as just as plentiful entertainment as another two roommates. It delighted Amelia especially, who would sit by the window every Wednesday evening eating her mother's homemade biscuits while claiming to watch the Hufflepuffs fall off their broomsticks. Ginny and Fia knew that she was much more enthralled to a particular Hufflepuff chaser, Zacharias Smith.

Fia was convinced that the Sorting Hat had made an obvious mistake by putting Zacharias Smith in Hufflepuff, as the members of that house were supposed to be good-spirited and friendly. Ginny had then suggested that maybe he wasn't cunning enough to be in Slytherin, not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, and not smart enough to be in Ravenclaw; therefore, thick. Amelia had stated that maybe Zacharias really was 'a very nice guy' and that they just hadn't bothered to get to know him properly.

Ginny changed into her quidditch robes, thinking half wonderingly and half annoyed about why Fia and Amelia had both left without waking her. She received her answer only a moment later. The door swung open, revealing a red-faced Amelia. For all Ginny thought, steam could be billowing from her friend's ears and she wouldn't be surprised.

Amelia was already wearing her quidditch robes, and seemed to have been halfway through attaching her shin pads. 'It's not like it's our fault!' Amelia said angrily, storming across the room to her bed and sitting down, where she continued to tie the cords of her right shin pad, then, realizing that it was actually her left shin pad, began to switch them around.

'What's our fault?'

'Oh, that we're going to lose. It's entirely our fault the Ravenclaw seeker got herself thrown in the hospital wing!'

'Who said that?'

'No one said that. That's just how Fia seems to point the blame.' She said, sighing and covering her face with her hands. 'She just threw Andrew's textbook at Jack because he tried to cheer her up. His nose will look like a bludger by the end of the day.'

'Such a temper that girl has, doesn't she?' the mirror beside Fia's bed said as Ginny went to tie her hair back. 'Last night she threw her hairbrush at me.'

'We better go down now, or Ron'll see the end of us.' Ginny said, and they both left the dormitory, jogging down the several staircases, Ginny jumping over the vanishing step—

'Ouch!' Ginny peered behind her. Amelia had foolishly forgotten about the vanishing step, and was now struggling to pull her foot back out of the lodge. A nearby painting of a skinny witch braiding her hair was giggling delightedly, her nose scrunched up and pointing at Amelia.

Ginny gave Amelia a hand, who was able to dislodge her ankle from the gap between the two stairs, and they both continued toward the Great Hall, Amelia walking a bit slower, and seeming to be making sure she didn't get fooled by any more of the castle's tricks. Ginny had heard countless of times Amelia's rants stating that the castle had a personal grudge against her.

'Hi Ginny!'

Luna was sitting alone at the Gryffindor table, her blonde hair thrown up in an incredibly messy do, which Ginny assumed Luna considered a hairstyle. It wouldn't have made much of a difference whether Luna sat at the Ravenclaw or the Gryffindor table, as both were close to empty, however, seeing Luna was in Ravenclaw, it was questionable on why she was sitting where she was.

'Hi Luna. We can't wait here, we're already running late.' Ginny said, grabbing a bread roll. 'Are you watching the match?'

'Oh? Of course, Ravenclaw has much an advantage now doesn't it? Now that they get to wait an extra game.' Luna pondered.

Amelia was gathering as much breakfast as possible into her pockets, but didn't seem as if she had much of a clue of what exactly she was collecting. She was instead eyeing Luna quite unsurely out of the corner of her eye, one eyebrow raised inquisitively.

'I guess they do.' Ginny said. 'Amelia hurry up... Amelia! You don't need all of that! You can't possible eat that in time before the match! And you can't play with your pockets full of doughnuts anyway!'

Amelia simply shrugged her shoulders, and followed Ginny back out the way they had entered.

The stands were already full, of not only Gryffindors and Slytherins, but Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws too. Gryffindor's were waving their red and gold scarves in the air, creating a sea of scarlet waves. The Slytherins weren't so encouraging towards their team. The majority were sitting down, their scarves tied around their necks, and wearing gloomy looks as if unappreciative of having had to wake up so early.

'Looks like it's gunna bucket down any second now.' Andrew said, peering up at the grey and unwelcoming sky. Next to him sat Jack, who had an ice pack held over his nose. His eyes were smaller than usual, and his face was overcome with dullness.

Ron was muttering to Harry about something under his breath, next to them stood Hermione, and in the corner stood Fia, leaning against one of the wooden beams holding up the stands, her face automatically warning people to not even talk to her.

Amelia turned back around to face Ginny, rolling her eyes. Ginny only sighed. She did agree with Amelia on the point that Fia was definitely overreacting about something so small as a Quidditch game.

'Even though we're going to lose—'

'Ron!'

'Even though Slytherin has such an advantage that we'll _probably _lose—'

'Ron!'

'Okay, let's just try our best and there's a smidgen of a chance we might win, but don't get your hopes up, because we'll probably—'

'_Win._' Hermione said sharply, before Ron could finish his sentence.

'Hermione, I know you're trying to think _positively_,' Ron said, sarcasm ringing in his voice. 'But, we're just not going to win.'

'We haven't won a game for the past two years running.' Harry said gloomily, which made Hermione cluck her tongue in annoyance.

'Look at us.' Ron said, peering around at everyone. 'There's me, the captain, who only stands half a chance of defending the goal each time the quaffle comes near me. There's Andrew and Jack, who don't seem to be able to distinguish the difference between a bludger and someone's head.' Andrew and Jack scowled at Ron for this. 'There's our chasers, who... well they aren't that bad, but the Slytherins are probably much better.' Amelia looked down at her feet in shame, Ginny tossed her head back and didn't meet Ron's eyes, and Fia glared at him so dangerously she looked as if she were about to murder him there on the spot. 'There's Harry. I mean, he's the only person on this team who doesn't need any improvement.' Harry scratched the back of his head.

Hermione, who was staring at Ron furiously, checked her watch. 'It's about time for you to go on. I'll be making my way to the stands, in that case.' She turned to leave, then turned back around for a moment. 'No dirty play.'

Ron scowled at the back of her head. 'Who does she think she is? I'm the captain of this team, not her. And I say, you can play as dirty as you like. It's not like they won't do the same. Now let's go.'

'Fia!' Ginny grabbed Fia's arm to stop her storming ahead. 'Just... be careful of bludgers...' she said, then, with warning by the look on Fia's face, added, 'Well, I have a feeling Malfoy's going to be trying to get me back for something in potions.' Fia glared at her, appearing scandalized, and creased her brow.

'Why are you warning me? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to knock _you _off your broom? Or do you think you're too good to worry?' she said bluntly, then stormed off ahead.

'Welcome to today's match. As of recently, Gryffindor's match against Ravenclaw has been postponed, and today they will be playing Slytherin! Introducing the Gryffindor team – Weasley, Weasley, Rivero, Bell, Kirke, Sloper and POTTER!' The Gryffindor stands burst into applause, and like usual, they cheered loudest at Harry's name. 'And the Slytherin team, Malfoy, Fullerton, Crabbe, Goyle and... I forgot those two chasers' names.'

The weather did not look promising. Like Jack had said, it looked as if it would rain any second. Ginny didn't like the idea of playing a game in the rain. The team was already clumsy enough without rain blocking their vision.

'Mount your brooms, and on my whistle...'

The icy air clawed at Ginny's skin as she kicked off the ground and shot upwards. The sleeves of her robes ruffled, and she noticed that the higher she got, the foggier it got. Amelia had shot forward and taken the Quaffle, but hadn't passed to Fia like she was supposed to. Instead she seemed determined to take the Quaffle to the other end and score by herself.

'Amelia Bell started with the Quaffle, and still has the Quaffle. What's she doing? Amelia pass the Quaffle! Fullerton's coming up behind you!' Ginny watched as Fullerton swerved up beside Amelia and grabbed the Quaffle. 'And Fullerton takes the Quaffle! Too bad, Amelia! Professor, what do you expect me to do? I had to warn her! What? I'm not interfering!'

Ginny flew after Fullerton, the icy wind attacking her face, but her broom just wasn't fast enough, and she was too light to fight the wind's force, and with a tumultuous roar from the Slytherin stands, Seamus announced that Slytherin was leading by ten points.

'Ron Weasley passes the Quaffle. And Ginny Weasley takes it, passes it to Bell, Bell passes it to... Bell doesn't pass it! Amelia Bell is heading towards the goal hoops! Ah, the keeper takes it!'

'Amelia what the bloody hell are you doing?' Ron shouted from his own three goal hoops. 'You're supposed to pass to Fia!'

But Amelia swerved around to face the opposite direction, then swam through the air towards Hambley, who now had the Quaffle.

Twenty minutes later, Slytherin was leading by seventy points, and Fia and Amelia were still refusing to pass to each other. The Slytherins were chanting as their chaser made their way down the field to score a goal.

'Ginny Weasley has the Quaffle, and she's ducked Gertrod and she's passed it to Bell! Bell misses it and Hambley takes it! Amelia what are you doing?!'

Ginny could see exactly why Amelia had missed the Quaffle. Fia and Amelia did not seem occupied with the game at all, but rather were passing death glares between each other, both trying to prove one another the better Quidditch player.

Ten minutes later, Slytherin were leading by ninety points. Ginny could see Harry peering around frantically for the snitch.

'FIA AND AMELIA! IF WE LOSE THIS GAME IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT!' Ron yelled furiously across the pitch, which made both Gertrod and Fullerton laugh.

'And Hambley has the Quaffle! And... by Merlin! Fia Rivero's taken the Quaffle off Horace Hambley! And she's flying in the opposite direction! Ha! Slytherin, take that! Fullerton's coming up behind Rivero! Fia watch it!' But Seamus snorted with laughter into the microphone.

The stands all burst into laughter, all except for the Slytherins, who were yelling insults across to the Gryffindor team. Amelia had pulled out a bun from her pocket as Fullerton had gotten ready to tackle, and he was now wiping pink icing off his face furiously.

'And she's just got the Keeper left in her way! Rivero scores! And the score is ninety-ten to Slytherin!'

A quick smile passed between Fia and Amelia, but faltered almost immediately, and both Ginny and Amelia followed Gertrod, who was now taking the Quaffle to the other end.

Though Amelia's food incident had earned Gryffindor a goal, their luck did not last. Slytherin were leading by one hundred and fifty points within another twenty minutes, and neither Malfoy nor Harry had seen any sign of the snitch.

Jack was growing extremely restless, swinging his beater bat as he waited for the game to resume between goals. It was clear that he felt like swinging his bat across his own head rather than continue with this game. Both he and Andrew had decided it was safer to pass the bludgers between the Slytherin beaters, Crabbe and Goyle, instead of risking knocking out one of their own players. Crabbe and Goyle, too thick to figure out their scheme, hit them back proudly, complimenting each other every time they hit one of the bludgers successfully.

'Vincent what the hell are you doing? Would you mind dealing with Weasley instead of playing childish games with the opposition as if they're your best friends?'

Ginny glanced upwards, assuming that any second a bludger was going to be sent in her direction. But surely Malfoy wasn't going to knock her off her broomstick. After all, she was definitely not the best player on the team, and she wouldn't be a major loss.

And then she saw it, a dash of black, heading towards the goal hoops, and within seconds, Ron was lying sprawled across the ground, fifty feet below. She watched as Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey hurried out from their stand and conjured stretchers, then turned her attention back to the game.

'And Hambley has the Quaffle and is heading towards the goal hoops. Oh no, he's going to score for sure!'

However Fia had already pulled out her wand, and, hiding it behind her robes, with her back towards Madam Hooch, muttered, '_Subtermanus_'. For a second it hadn't seemed to do anything, however, a moment later it was clear what the charm had caused.

'And Hambley drops the Quaffle! Ducks to grab it... and it slips out of his hands!' Again the stands burst into laughter, and Ginny joined in. It was rather hilarious watching the beefy, large-jawed chaser dip and swerve trying to keep the Quaffle in his grasp. 'And Bell takes the Quaffle, passes it to Rivero,'

'And Fia Rivero has the Quaffle. Rivero passes to Bell, who passes to Weasley. Fullerton comes up beside Weasley! But Weasley's let go of the Quaffle! Bell takes it. Bell... Bell scores! And it's one hundred and sixty to twenty Slytherin's way!'

'Weasley, I saw that.'

Ginny glanced back behind her, still heading towards the abandoned Gryffindor goal hoops after Fullerton, who had the Quaffle held underneath his arm. Draco Malfoy was following her, smirking. 'Malfoy, go and find the snitch like you're supposed to.'

'I was going to let her pass. But I saw that dirty little trick, so I had to reconsider.'

'What are you talking about, Malfoy?'

'You know what I'm talking about. Your friend's clever joke. I could, of course, tell Hooch, and we'd receive a penalty, however, I prefer to have a bit more fun out of it.'

'What—' Ginny turned around, quite close to batting him across the head with her broomstick, but he had gone. She saw him mutter something to Goyle, then head towards the opposite goal hoops to linger and observe his order taking place.

Another dash of black somersaulted across the pitch, and many were surprised that Goyle had made such an impressive hit.

'Slytherin beater Goyle sends a bludger towards the Gryffindor end and—' Seamus was not the only observer to open his mouth in protest. 'Professor! That's dirty play, that is!'

But even Ginny knew that it was not against the rules, and perfectly allowed. That's what bludgers were for, after all, and as long as a Slytherin player hadn't physically and brutally knocked Fia off her broom, it was allowed.

She watched angrily as Fia, like Ron had just before, fell towards the ground. This time, Professor Flitwick was able to slow her down before she hit the grass. Another stretcher was conjured, and Fia was taken out of sight.

Gertrod had the Quaffle now, and after laughing heartily over Fia's fall with Fullerton. Hambley, however, did not seem in the mood to laugh. He was more concerned over his inability to hold the Quaffle.

'Gertrod has the Quaffle! And he passes it to Fullerton. Fullerton... Fullerton shows off how absolutely wonderful he thinks he is... Sorry Professor... unfortunately no one quite agrees with him. Sorry, Professor. And... Slytherin scores. One hundred and seventy to twenty. I don't need to tell you who's winning. And, Merlin! Malfoy's seen the snitch!'

Ginny took the Quaffle, and ignoring the fact that everyone was more occupied with the sighting of the snitch, dodged Fullerton, who was, unlike most Slytherins, scrawny, with big ears and an overbite. He looked rather like a rat.

Harry had overtaken Malfoy now, which cost him an elbow in his chest from the sneering and determined Slytherin seeker.

The Slytherin keeper was staring in awe at the snitch's pass, and it was not hard to throw the Quaffle through the hoop...

'POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH!'

Those who had figured out that Potter having caught the snitch had brought the score to one hundred and seventy points per team, were sighing and swearing. Both Gryffindors and Slytherins complained that they were out of luck.

However, over the swarm of the observers conversations, some were leaning over the railing, shouting out towards Madam Hooch.

'Ginny Weasley scored a goal, Madam Hooch!'

'Ma'am! Gryffindor won! Ginny scored at the last second!'

'Madam Hooch, that red-head girl scored for Gryffindor!'

Ginny herself, followed by Amelia, flew back down to where Madam Hooch was standing, surrounded by several Gryffindors, including Seamus, and a short but plump Slytherin, who was shaking his head.

'Madam Hooch! Ginny did score a goal! At the very last second, just as the snitch was caught!' Amelia said, nearly tripping over her broomstick in her hurry to get off. 'She did, really she did. I'm not lying. Professor, professor!' For Amelia had just spied Professor McGonogall making her way across the grass.

'Yes, Miss Bell, I have already heard it from at least fifty people from Gryffindor. I do not need to hear it again.'

Amelia shut her mouth just as soon as she had opened it, and dragged her broom rather carelessly back to the rest of the team.

'Did you?' Harry asked. His glasses were askew and cracked, and dirt covered half of his face.

'Yes. But it was just as you caught the snitch so I'm not sure if it went through on time.' Ginny said.

Harry grinned, causing Ginny to blush profusely, grab Amelia's arm and turn around immediately so that he didn't notice when he looked back up.

'Ginny, is it true you scored a goal during the last few seconds of the game?'

Ginny turned to face the speaker. Professor Dumbledore's eyes glittered through his half moon spectacles, and he was smiling.

'Y-yes.' Ginny said, surprised at being addressed by the headmaster, who had not spoken to her since the second year.

'Then I have every reason to believe her, Rolanda.' Dumbledore said, turning back towards Madam Hooch, who nodded cheerfully. 'So that would mean, Gryffindor wins, one hundred and eighty to one hundred and seventy.'

'Don't think you'll be so lucky next time, Weasley.' Malfoy said, who was standing next to Madam Hooch. His cheeks were flushed after the trail of the snitch, mixed with his horror at Gryffindor having won. 'We all know that no one in your team can fly to save their lives! You couldn't beat a walking dragon in a race.'

'Well it would depend on what type of dragon. If it was a Curly-Eared Swirlump then she would have no chance of winning!' Both Ginny and Malfoy turned to see Luna treading across the grass delicately, as if she was walking on ice. 'I'm making sure I don't step on any Fripsies.'

'On any _what_?' Amelia questioned distastefully, again raising one thin eyebrow.

'Fripsies. They live in the grass, and if you step on one, they'll bite you. Sometimes they'll even rip your toe off. They're quite grumpy little things, you know.'

'What are fritsies? If such things as _frishties_ existed, then Bell here would have no toes left. Why, last year, she tripped over her own broom in mid-air, and spent a week in the hospital wing. Didn't you know? Well I'm sure that would squash a good many frixies.' Malfoy sneered, which made tilt her head to the side as if considering what he'd just said. Amelia, meanwhile, had gone pink.

Ginny thought Malfoy had a fair point. Amelia tripped over almost everything. However, she also had the firm opinion that there wasn't even a point discussing fripsies, as Luna had an extremely vivid imagination and was making creatures up all the time.

'As I was saying, don't think you'll get away with any more victories.' Malfoy said bluntly. 'I'll knock you off your broom next. It's not hard to knock a Weasley off their broomstick.' He laughed. 'Knocking you off a broom might knock some sense into you.' he added to Luna. 'As for, you, you must be an expert at falling off a broom by now. You've probably got some fancy stunts to go with it.'

Amelia was blushing furiously now. She had her eyes fixed on a group of people dressed in yellow and black, and Ginny tightened her grip on her broomstick. He had just mocked Amelia in front of the whole Gryffindor, Slytherin and Hufflepuff Quidditch team, who must have come down to practice now the field was empty. The Slytherins, like usual, were laughing in monotone, and some Hufflepuffs were even snickering. This, and Ron and Fia both having been knocked off their brooms by Malfoy's order, made Ginny do what she did next.

Raising her broom over her shoulder, she swung it over her head, and slammed it right into the side of Draco Malfoy's face.

---

Madam Pomfrey had healed his bruised face in seconds. While waiting in the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey to return from the back room with 'Bruise Riddance' ointment, he hadn't even poked fun at Fia Rivero and Ron Weasley, both of whom were lying stiffly in bed. Fia had chucked a Bertie Botts bean at his face, and Ron had tried to say something, but had found it too painful for his jaw, yet Draco had just slumped over to a seat in the corner and waited, without a word.

Now Draco was pulling out parchment and his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, preparing to write an essay on defense jinxes. The side of his face where the ointment had been applied was still cold. Blaise Zambini, after congratulating him for losing, was now lying over his bed reading a comic book he had received that morning from his uncle, called _'The Adventures of Bonnie and Appletoe'_. Every now and again he would crack up with laughter.

Draco did not see much point in a comic book if the people inside them were just going to move around in all the boxes and squares. He thought it quite pointless, and could not understand how Blaise could understand what was happening.

Draco emptied his bag over his bed, and picked up the first quill he saw, then made his way back to the desk the four boys shared between each other, or rather, the desk they were supposed to share. Draco had made it quite clear that the desk was property of his.

_There are hundreds of different defense jinxes. However, many are not in use today. In fact, many are illegal today, since Bregundle Hooptank (Minister for Magic 1910-1914), banned the use of ancient magic as a mean of defense in 1913. It was never fully understood why he banned this, and was voted out of his position by the magical population, who held the opinion that he was simply stupid._

Draco looked down at his quill. He frowned. It was the quill Weasley had told him was ugly. He did not understand this. It was of the most expensive brand of quills, _Starfrem_, and in his opinion, they were all of brilliant make. But without another thought on them, he ruthlessly threw the quill across the room, missing the bin by an inch.

'What are you throwing that away for, mate?' Blaise asked, looking up at him. 'They're bloody expensive, they are. Lord, you don't have any consideration for what people give you, do you?'

Draco ignored this comment, picked up another quill, this time a peacock blue one, and continued to write his essay, though half his mind still lingered on the question of why Ginny's opinion on his personal belongings even mattered to him. He was sure that it was extremely unusual for him to even give a second thought of a girl's opinion. In fact, he didn't believe they should have opinions, as they always caused argument anyway.

'Hah!' Blaise broke into unstoppable laughter again, causing Draco's brow to quiver in frustration. 'Draco, this is bloody hilarious, mate! The guy who wrote this is a bloody legend!'

**---**

Oh dear. That was a bit long, that was. Ah well, I hope it was... umm... attention-keeping. Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson next chapter, for Ginny. That means more Professor Northrop. Draco is currently... stuck behind a writers block. He'll get out soon.

**zuvalupa – **Thank you :) huggles Yeah, I thought so too. Except I do get paranoid that if I don't bring it in soon people are going to go 'oh stuff this fanfiction' :P

**Anaili – **The quill scene... is important ;) She was gone a long time however I'm not going to tell you why :P

**Faint Hate – **Amelia is supposed to be funny so I'm glad you like her. I guess she's just supposed to be silly. She's very clumsy and she's not the best at charms. Ah Cho... what a stupid stupid mistake I made.

**jennifer – **No, Amelia isn't a liar. She just likes to exaggerate things. Haha listen to me talking about the characters as if they're real...

**Miss75 – **I'm sorry it was short. But I guess this chapter makes up for it completely.

**lily-evans – **Oh don't put that pressure on me! :P No, it's okay. I hope my quidditch scene's not too bad. I personally hate it... but that's just me. There is a reason for the name of the story.

**foxxyrodriguez – **First of all, thank you for your constructive criticism. Hah well my storyline is original. What I have planned anyway. I can compliment myself on that. Stuck-up vulture? That made me laugh! Yes she is speaking about Voldemort. Now you can go and imagine Voldemort tap dancing tap tap tap. Well I can't do anything about the boomslang, then, can I? :P How is that clever? How can Amelia be clever making Ginny's eyes heavier? Thank you :)


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